A federal judge has temporarily blocked New York from enforcing a new law that would have prohibited federal immigration officers from wearing face coverings and required them to display visible identification while carrying out immigration enforcement operations.

U.S. District Judge Mae D’Agostino issued a preliminary injunction Monday, siding in part with the U.S. Department of Justice, which argued that the state lacks the authority to regulate how federal immigration officers perform their duties. The DOJ filed the lawsuit in June, contending that the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause by attempting to impose state rules on federal officials.

In her ruling, D’Agostino acknowledged New York’s concerns that masked immigration agents without visible identification can create confusion and public safety risks. However, she concluded that longstanding legal precedent gives the federal government—not individual states—the authority to determine immigration enforcement policies and procedures.

The decision represents a legal victory for the Trump administration, which has defended the use of face coverings by ICE agents, arguing they help protect officers and their families from harassment, threats, and retaliation.

The judge’s ruling applies only to the provisions governing masks and identification. She declined to block a separate section of the law that limits formal cooperation between New York law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities, which is still scheduled to take effect on August 25.

The decision follows a similar federal court ruling in California, where a judge also blocked a state law restricting federal immigration officers, finding that states cannot impose operational requirements on federal agencies engaged in immigration enforcement.